Gay speaker at GWU sparks faith debate

A gay minister spoke at Gardner-Webb University this week as part of a lecture series, drawing a mixed reaction from the university and surrounding community.

Molly Phipps

A gay minister spoke at Gardner-Webb University this week as part of a lecture series, drawing a mixed reaction from the university and surrounding community.

Cody Sanders, a 2005 GWU alumnus, spoke about his most recent book, “Queer Lessons for Churches on the Straight and Narrow: What All Christians can Learn from LGBTQ Lives.” Sanders is an ordained Baptist minister who now lives in California.

News of the lecture, part of the university’s Life of the Scholar (LOTS) series, was shared and discussed widely on social media by both gay rights advocates and opponents, from GWU alumni to members of the surrounding community.

The Star received emails from community members concerned about the message the university might be sending by hosting Sanders.

Dr. Ben Leslie, GWU provost and executive vice president, sent an open letter to members of the GWU community highlighting the event’s purpose, which he said was to understand a position on an increasingly common point of view within Protestantism.

Leslie acknowledged those at the university and in the community “who feel strongly that the speaker’s message is one that needs to be heard,” as well as those “who feel just as strongly that his presence and his message constitute an attack on the most fundamental values on which this university stands.”

Leslie said the university would therefore treat the event and its themes with great sensitivity.

In his letter, he also said Sanders is a professing Christian and an alumnus of the university and that GWU does not seek out controversial topics.

“This young man is a son of GWU who has taken a different road, and the LOTS lecture is an opportunity to understand better the views that characterize his writings,” he said. “Mr. Sanders’ views are not the views of the university or its leadership. But university leadership does believe that mature college students benefit from talking openly about the serious issues and challenges of the day.”

Local faith leaders weighed in with their thoughts – some for and others against – on the lecture. Some leaders declined to comment on the GWU lecture choice. The Star contacted Sanders but he was unable to comment in time for the story.

'Very disappointing'

Bo Wagner, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Mooresboro, said GWU's decision to host Sanders in a position of authority as a speaker was disappointing.

He said he never condones being antagonistic or hateful toward gay residents, but that he takes an honest stance on homosexuality because of the Bible.

“Scripture’s very clear: homosexuality is a sin,” he said. “With Gardner-Webb being a Baptist school, I do find that very disappointing. If we put somebody in front of people to speak, then those people ought to be—in the words of 1 Timothy 3—blameless.”

Wagner said “blameless” means a speaker should not be living in open sin.

“We are very selective and careful in who we put before our people,” he said, in reference to his church, which is independent Baptist.

He said he realizes that GWU is a college, not a church, but that its Baptist affiliation carries a certain responsibility.

“Anybody that’s in authority has a responsibility to those that are under their authority. The things that scripture are clear on aren’t really open for debate and discussion,” he said. “People have gotten very timid to say anything about anybody’s lifestyle and that’s a shame because when you look at the prophets in the Bible they were told to lift up their voice, cry aloud and show the people their sin.”

‘I applaud them’

The Rev. Dr. Valori Mulvey Sherer, rector of The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Shelby, said she applauds Gardner-Webb's decision.

"I’m surprised that he was invited to speak," she said. "I applaud them for inviting him to speak and giving him a forum."

Sherer said she has been alone in her stance on homosexuality in the past, but with some of the new Methodist pastors in the area, she's not alone anymore.

"We have been an outspoken community – the Episcopal church as a whole – and Redeemer here in Shelby," she said. "It’s very important to us, the inclusion of all people in the family of God and their value. So that he was given a forum to speak at his alma mater is wonderful from where we stand."

She, too, referenced scripture for her perspective.

"There’s a scripture story about the vine grower. The father is the vine and we are the branches. That story makes really clear to us that we are not the ones who judge which branches should be cut. We are simply to grow as God made us," she said.

Christians are called to love one another, not to judge, she said.

"It’s a faithful response to allow a person to be who God created them to be and allow them to grow to be the best person that they can be and the best light that they can be," Sherer said.